Knock-down container



Jan. 1, 1963 M. B. OLSON ETAL 3,071,277

KNOCK-DOWN CONTAINER Filed March 21, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVFJVTORS. Mervin B. Olson, Willard E. Turner Y8 Louis W Slearns Buckhorn, Chealham 8 Blore ATTORNEYS Jan. 1, 1963 M. B. OLSON ETAL KNOCK-DOWN CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 21, 1960 INVENTORS. Mervin 5. Olson, Willard E. Turner 8 Louis W. Sfearns Buckhorn, Cheafham 8 Blore ATTORNEYS 3,971,277 KNOCK-DOWN C(BNTR Mervin B. Olson, 3014 SE. 66th Ave, and Willard E- Turner, 3203 NE. 52nd Ave, both of Portland, Greg, and Louis W. Stearns, Wilde Road, Clackarnas, (Preg- Filed Mar. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 16,583 1 Claim. (Ci. ZEN-12} This invention relates to a rigid container for articles of commerce. For convenience, the term box or bin will be used in the specification instead of the term container.

It is a main object of the present invention to provide a box or bin in which the primary parts may be readily fabricated from stock material and which includes a number of connectors that enable the box to be quickly assembled without requiring special tools and without requiring permanent securement, such as by nails, gluing and the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a box that may be readily disassembled after being assembled and may be shipped in disassembled form.

A more particular object of the present invention is to provide a box of the above type in which the floor of the box is provided by the upper surface of a pallet, particularly a pallet for use with a fork lift truck.

Various other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a box embodying the concepts of the present invention;

PEG. 2 is a similar view of the box with certain parts shown in phantom lines for convenience in illustration;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale taken in the direction of the arrows 33 in H6. 1, and showing one side of a connector;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section on an enlarged scale taken along lines 4--4 of HG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a connector blank before the margins are bent to form the flanges of the connector;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along lines 6-6 of P16. 3;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along lines 77 of P16. 8;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view taken in the direction of the arrows u8 in FIG. 3; and

PEG. 9 is a fragmentary elevational view of a modified form of the invention, parts being broken away for convenience in illustration.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the box or bin shown comprises a base member in the form of a rigid pallet generally entitled 11 supporting four side members 13, 15, 17 and 19 which are of identical form and which may be constructed of plywood. The side members thus form the sides of the box and the upper face of the pallet forms the floor of the box.

The side members are arranged generally end-for-end around the peripheral margin of the pallet to provide four corners, with one end portion of each side member overlapping the end edge of one associated side member, and the other end portion of the first-mentioned side member having its edge overlapped by the end portion of the other associated side member. For instance, in FIG. 1 the right-hand end portion of the side member 13 overlaps an end edge of the associated side member 15, and the left-hand end portion of the side member 13 has its end edge overlapped by the adjacent end portion of the associated side member 19.

The side members are rigidly held in the relationship shown and against the pallet 11 by means including four corner members 29, four pairs of connectors of identical form, the upper connectors being identified by the reference numeral 31 and the lower connectors by the 3,7l,277 Patented Jan. 1, 1963 ire reference numeral 33, four carriage bolts 35, and a nut 37 for each bolt. The corner members are of flat elongated form as is apparent from FIG. 1, and referring to FIG. 4, each has its longitudinal edges beveled at 45 degrees to fit flush against the inner .faces of the associated side members.

Each connector is of generally flat triangular form, but specifically has five sides with three long sides having a right-triangular relationship to one another, and the remaining two sides forming the end portions of truncated points of the triangle.

FIG. 5 shows a connector in blank form prior to bending the marginal portions to form the flanges of the connector. The connector comprises a central righttriangular, relatively flat portion 41 with marginal portions 43, 45, 47, 49 and 51 which are bent at substantially right angles to the central portion 41 to provide flanges identified by the same reference numerals. The parts of the box are proportioned so that the flanges 43, 45 and 49 snugly fit against the adjacent exterior faces of the associated side members and the inner face of the associated corner member to hold the corner member in firm contact with the side members.

Referring to FIG. 6, the bolt 35 has its head 52 countersunk into the bottom of the pallet by means of a counterbore 53 and passes upwardly through the pallet and through an opening 54 formed in the lower connector. The bolt then passes upwardly through a space provided between the associated corner member 29 and the side members 13 and 15, as clearly shown in FIG. 4. The bolt then terminates near an opening 55 formed in the upper connector 31 as shown in FIG. 6.

A nut 37 having a depressed center 57 and a flange 59 threads onto the upper end of the bolt. The nut is formed with appropriate slots 61 to receive a tool for turning the nut. The slots are best shown in FIG. 3. As the nut is threaded up tightly, the connectors are forced toward one another rigidly to maintain the side members of the box in the relationship shown and also rigidly to clamp the side members and the pallet 11 together to provide a unitary bin or box. Nails or glue or other forms of permanent attachment are not required.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 7 and 8, the flanges 47 and 51 of a connector fit in transverse slots 63 in the side members to prevent endwise movement of the side members. A portion of the flange 45 of a connector overlaps the adjacent end face of the side member 13 as shown in FIG. 8. This overlapping also prevents endwise movement of the side member 13 in the direction of the flange 45. The overlapping of the opposite end edge of the side member 13 by an end portion of the side member 19 prevents endwise movement of the side member 13 in a direction away from the flange 45. Reference in this regard is made to FIGS. 1 and 4.

It is apparent that the box described above may be shipped disassembled, and assembled readily at the place of use. After use, the box may be readily disassembled. Also, the connecting assembly including the corner members, connectors, bolts and nuts may be furnished to a customer, and the customer may readily provide suitable side members by merely sawing plywood panels to the desired dimensions and forming or purchasing a suitable pallet.

As best shown in FIG. 7, the inner edges of the flanges 47 and 51 are relieved so that they do not project into the box so that they cannot damage articles of commerce in the box. Also the flanges 43, 45 and 47 are preferably slightly inwardly bent as shown in FIG. 6 so as to provide a snug fit and also so that generally rounded surfaces are presented by the flanges both interiorly and exteriorly of the box.

The side members may be perforated if desired, and the side edges of the slats 69 of the pallet 11 may be rounded to avoid damage to articles of commerce, such as fruit, that might be contained in the box.

FIG. 9 shows a modified form of the invention in which the box has a cover member 71 formed with suitable openings to receive the bolts, one bolt 35a being shown. The bolts 35a are longer than the bolts 35 so that they can project upwardly into the cover member 71. A nut 73 having a depressed center is threaded on the bolt to clamp the cover tightly down in position. The cover member may be recessed at 75 to accommodate the flanges 59 of the lower nuts. It is apparent that the cover member may be removed without requiring disassembly of the box.

If it is desired to use thinner side members, the same connectors as used with thicker side members can be employed provided the corner members are made sutficiently wide to maintain the previous spacing of the inner faces of the corner member relative to the outer faces of the side members.

The flanges 59 of the upper nuts 57, 59 may be countersunk into the connectors if desired.

Having described the invention in what is considered to he the preferred embodiment thereof, it is desired that it be understood that the invention is not to be limited other than by the provisions of the following claim.

We claim:

A container for articles of commerce comprising a base member, four side panels, each panel being of single piece unitary form of uniform thickness, said panels being upright on said base member and disposed in end-to-end relationship with one end edge of each panel abutting against the associated end margin of the panel associated with such end edge, a corner brace at each corner, each brace comprising an elongate upright member of a length equal to the height of the panels and disposed Within the enclosure defined by the panels and engaging the inner faces of the associated panels in spaced relation to the place of contact of the latter to define a vertical passage, a pair of connectors for each of the corners defined by the panels, with one connector at the top and the other at the bottom of the panels, each connector comprising a generally fiat metal piece having marginal portions bent to provide flanges at the edges thereof, said flanges engaging the outer faces of associated side members and the inner face of the associated corner brace to hold the members together, said side members providing transverse slots at the upper and lower edges thereof adjacent each corner, said connector having marginal flanges fitting in such slots to prevent endwise movement of said members, and tie means at each corner, each tie means extending through the associated passage and connectors and clamping such connectors against the associated panels and corner brace, the base member underlies the lower connector and has openings in vertical alignment with said vertical passages, each tie means passing through the said aligned opening and passage and thereby being secured in laterally immovable relationship to said base member and clamping said base member against the lower connectors and preventing lateral shifting movement of said base member relative to the remaining parts of the box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 682,601 Humphrey Sept. 17, 1901 754,957 Schwanbeck Mar. 15, 1904 1,682,539 Sanford Aug. 28, 1928 1,929,303 Brown Oct. 3, 1933 2,203,625 Friedel June 4, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 301,649 Great Britain Dec. 6,1928 707,758 Great Britain Apr. 21, 1954 

